DAYS 132-133 RENMARK

27 -28 OCTOBER 2021

It was with some huge degree of reluctance that we finally packed up and prepared to farewell our wonderful new friends, Sheryle and John. Although we had only known them for 5 days, it felt like we had known each other for ages. Those long afternoon teas with them every afternoon led to all sorts of reminiscences about previous travels, life and the universe in general.

The weather forecast for the next couple of days was not encouraging. The grey skies confirmed our fears that we were driving into some bad weather.

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At Morgan we stopped for a picnic lunch in the park, down by the Murray where the ferry transports drivers across the river from SA to Victoria. Strong winds blew up while we were lunching, covering the cars lined up for the ferry in clouds of dust.

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With some assistance from the tail wind we reached Renmark in no time at all. The Riverbend Van Park was our chosen stay. Although the weather was gloomy we were delighted to be allocated the last camp spot beside the Murray. It was such a lovely spot to pause and enjoy for a couple of days.

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The next morning dawned bright and sunny and Rosie and I loved our walk beside the river. We even paused a moment for a chat with one of the gorgeous Skippys.

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We had to pop into town to top up our supplies, and took the time to have a little look around.

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We arrived back in camp in time for a late lunch while we relaxed and watched the passing river traffic.

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The sky filled up with dark clouds, thunder roared, lightning flashed and then the rains came. Heavy rains! And some hail too. We enjoyed watching the drama of the storm from under our awning. Eventually it stopped and a watery sun appeared again.

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As the sun set, more thunder roared in the distance, and this time a wild wind blew in so quickly that we were battling to get the awning up. A kind neighbour saw our plight and came down to add his weight to the situation. Thankfully there was no damage done. Once we were safely bunkered down in the van, the skies opened up more furiously than before. It felt like gale force winds rocking the van, and cascades of rain and hail belting down on the roof. Later we heard that this wild weather had caused havoc in Melbourne and even as far up as Sydney.